Now Commenting On:

Freeman named NL Player of the Week

Freeman named NL Player of the Week

5/6/12: Freddie Freeman hammers a ball to the gap in right-center and motors around the bases to tally his first career triple

By Mark Bowman
/
MLB.com |

CHICAGO -- After Freddie Freeman completed his most recent assault on the Rockies' pitching staff on Sunday, Braves catcher David Ross playfully said he'd like to be like his young teammate one day.

It's safe to assume there are a number of Major Leaguers who've felt this way over the past few weeks.

When Freeman arrived at Wrigley Field early Monday afternoon, he was informed that he had been named the National League's Player of the Week for the second time in three weeks.

"I never thought I'd ever win one," Freeman said. "To win two is something special. You never go out there trying to win Player of the Week or Player of the Month or anything like that. You just go out there to help your team win. To have it come my way again, it was truly an honor."

Freeman batted .367 while matching a Major League-high 23 total bases and NL-high 11 hits last week. The 22-year-old first baseman drilled three home runs, tallied 10 RBIs, compiled a .767 slugging percentage and legged out his first career triple during Sunday's series finale against the Rockies.

Freeman had batted .356 with six homers and a .712 slugging percentage in his previous 18 games entering Monday.

Even before the young first baseman enjoyed his latest stellar week, Chipper Jones told Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez that he believed Freeman was ready to fill the third spot in Atlanta's batting order for many years to come. That is the spot Jones primarily occupied dating back to his rookie season in 1995.

"I think the biggest compliment that anybody could give Freddie Freeman was what Chipper did the other day when he came in and said, 'I think this is your three-hole hitter for a long time,'" Gonzalez said.

Mark Bowman is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.